Twin Blades
by Slayergirl
Summary: When Lucy finds a particular sword, events take an interesting turn. I don't own anything, but I love reviews.


Lucy wandered to the armoury, a little slowly. She hadn't been able to find Peter or Edmund, she wasn't sure where Caspian and Susan were, and Trumpkin was with Trufflehunter, seeing to the body of their misguided friend Nikabrik. It irked her that she'd had no weapon beside her dagger, and was determined to rectify it now.

A dwarf smith looked up, surprised, at her entry. "Your Majesty," he said, bowing low, beard almost touching the ground. "Is there something I may assist you with?"

She smiled. "I'm looking for a sword, master dwarf," she replied. "One fit for someone of my size."

The dwarf simply nodded, accepting her request; he knew the stories of old. "There are a few dwarf-swords, my lady. They may be close to the size of sword you were accustomed to, in your reign."

Lucy looked at him, surprised; had it been well-known, then, that she had had a sword crafted especially for her? She missed that sword, Lirion… she wondered what had become of it. "Thank you."

"These are all the swords we could find," he said, taking her to the back of the armoury. Neither of them, with their backs turned to the door, noticed the entrance of the young prince. "If there is any here that would suit, Your Majesty, take it and welcome."

Lucy started looking through the swords, recognising that most were too big for her, too heavy, and put them to one side. Caspian glanced curiously at the two. "Hagarek?"

The dwarf turned to him, with a smile. "Your Highness! What brings you to the armoury?"

"The need for a small repair to my armour, nothing too difficult…" he indicated the offending part.

"I will see to it at once," said Hagarek, busying himself at a small table, his tools close beside him.

Caspian wandered over to where Lucy was still methodically searching through the pile of swords, unaware of him. "Your Majesty?"

She looked up and smiled. "Oh, hello, Caspian."

He was both puzzled and amused. "For whom do you seek a sword so avidly?"

She shrugged, going back to her task. "For myself, of course." She stopped suddenly, and gasped. "No… it can't be!" She pulled the sword and scabbard from the bottom of the pile and held it lovingly in her hands. "I thought I'd lost you," she crooned to it, stroking the scabbard.

Caspian blinked in surprise. The sword was slightly larger than a dwarf-sword, but much smaller than his own, or those of King Edmund and High King Peter – a lady's sword, he realised. "This is your sword?" he stammered.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face. "Yes, my sword Lirion." She drew the sword from the scabbard, and drew tender fingers over the blade. "I had it made for me, back in the Golden Age. When I was… oh, about fifteen, or so, I was a bit wild… Ed suggested that I learn to fight, and he and I went to the finest smiths to have it made for me. They wove magic into both sword and scabbard, that it would always find its way to me when I needed it most, that the kill would always be a swift one…"

His eyes widened. "You went to war, Queen Lucy?"

"I rarely set out on campaign," she said softly. "But sometimes, Caspian, war comes to your doorstep, and everyone must fight for their lives."

"Did you have a shield, also?"

She shook her head. "No; I fought with sword and dagger, one in each hand."

He nodded. "How long has it been since you trained?" he asked carefully.

"A while," she said sadly.

He smiled. "Then if I may be so bold, would you do the honour of sparring a little with me?"

A smile lit up her face. "Oh, that would be lovely! I'm so out of practice, though."

He shrugged. "Practise, and that will change. Let us go and spar."

He was pleasantly surprised, as they sparred, to see how well Lucy handled the sword.

"Mind if I cut in?" came an amused voice.

Lucy's face fell, but she made way for Edmund. "Of course."

He grinned at her. "No, you goose, I was asking Caspian." His friend laughed, saluted Lucy, and made way for Edmund as Lucy's face regained its radiance. "I see you've found Lirion, then… or should that be, Lirion's found you?"

She gave a thoughtful frown. "I wondered about that."

They sparred for a while, Caspian watching them intently, as Lucy spun, twirling in gracefully deadly curves, pitting her sword and dagger against Edmund's two swords. When they broke apart for a short while, he loped closer to them. "Lucy," he said softly, "you do not always defend yourself as well as you might with the dagger."

She nodded. "I know. I've never been so good with my left hand – I need more practise to get back into the swing of things."

He considered for a moment. "Your left hand is the weaker?"

She nodded. "Yes; I'm right-handed."

He took the weapons from her and switched them over. "Try that."

She made a few experimental swings, and frowned. "It feels weird."

"It will do. Keep trying." He blocked a couple of moves, halting when she did. "Practise both ways round – that was how I learned; I, too, am right-handed, unlike your ambidextrous brother," he said, with a nod at Edmund. "If you practise both ways round, eventually, it will make no difference, and you will be able to fight as I do, with two swords. Indeed," he said, with a conspiratorial mock-whisper, "if you master the skill, and your brothers and sister will allow it, and we win this war, and I am crowned king, I will undertake to have a twin made for your sword – a Telmarine sword, if you would like it, so you may fight as I do, but with one Narnian and one Telmarine sword, to show the unity of the nations."

She looked at him, surprised. "Really?" she turned to Edmund, who smiled.

"Learn to do it first, Lu," he said. "Then we'll think about Caspian's offer."

He smiled at the determination on her face. "Right, then. Let's spar."

Soon after his coronation, Caspian laid a Telmarine sword, the same size as Lirion, next to its twin in Lucy's treasure chest at Cair Paravel. He sighed, thinking of the young warrior queens – beautiful, gentle Susan with her bow, and valiant Lucy with swords and dagger. One he knew he would never see again, which cut him to the core; the other, he hoped, he would one day meet with again. Until then, he had fulfilled his promise to her. "One day, maybe," he said softly, closing the lid of the treasure chest. "One day, perhaps I will see you fight again, little warrior queen."

He turned away from the treasure room to his companion. "It was well done, Son of Adam," said the great lion gently. "And some day, she will know of it."

He hoped that meant that he would see her again.


End file.
